Penn State law alumna finds the right fit with Delaware firm
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Penn State law alumna finds the right fit with Delaware firm
By Brian Cox
Though Sarah Kaboly had entertained the idea of a career in law since high school, she didn’t completely make up her mind until being admitted to Dickinson School of Law at Pennsylvania State University.
It proved to be a good choice.
Now an associate at McCollom D’Emilio Smith Uebler LLC (MDSU), Kaboly focuses her practice on corporate and commercial litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery and other state courts. The firm represents corporate and individual clients in a range of transactional and litigation matters and is nationally recognized for its work on trusts, estates, business transactions, and litigation.
“I think MDSU is a perfect combination of high-quality corporate work and a relaxed atmosphere,” says Kaboly. “It offers a good balance of providing oversight but also giving associates responsibility and freedom.”
Born and raised in Bethlehem, Pa., Kaboly did not grow up around lawyers. Her father was the manager of the environmental department at a cement plant before starting his own photography business years later, and her mother worked for the county and is now director of the human resources department of Northampton County.
She was a dedicated student who played the flute and was in the high school marching band. She took many road trips with her father, who had set a goal to see all 50 states with her, which they accomplished her senior year of high school.
Sarah and her fiancé, C.J. Barnett, are engaged and plan to marry in July.
“I have a lot of memories of driving in the middle of nowhere,” she says. “When we were in Colorado, we drove five hours just to go to the Kansas border to say we were in Kansas and then turn around.”
They visited national parks and kept an eye out for wildlife and birds, which her father loved to photograph.
After high school, she attended Gettysburg College, a small private liberal arts school that was founded in 1832 and is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield, site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War.
Not sure yet what she wanted to do for a career, Kaboly majored in political science and minored in history. Her maternal grandmother was active in Pennsylvania politics and helped her get an internship with U.S. Sen. Bob Casey. Kaboly also spent a semester studying abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France.
After college, Kaboly found law school to be right in her wheelhouse.
“I liked law school,” she says. “I treated it like a job and worked hard and did well.”
During law school, she secured a judicial clerkship with Chief Judge Christopher C. Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. She was the executive articles editor for the Dickinson Law Review.
For her 1L summer, Kaboly interned with the district attorney’s office in Bethlehem, where she was able to observe all stages of criminal cases. While she enjoyed her internship, it ultimately was not the right fit.
Her first encounter with Delaware law firms came through on-campus interviews with several prominent Delaware firms. She received internship offers from both and decided to work in Delaware for her 2L summer.
The internship was her introduction to corporate law. She enjoyed the legal research, writing, and dealing with the more complex issues that corporate law can present.
It turned out that she also liked Delaware, which is known for corporate law, and she saw a unique opportunity there.
So, when the law firm followed up the internship with a job offer, she took it. The move to Delaware was made smoother from the friendships she had made during the internship. Many of the interns also joined the firm, and she had a circle of friends to welcome her.
Sarah and C.J. have two cats, Oscar and Olive.
Sarah and C.J. enjoy traveling and recently visited National Glacier Park in Montana where Sarah's brother lives.
Kaboly gained valuable experience and enjoyed the complex corporate work she was doing. In January 2023, she decided to make the move to MDSU.
“I thought it might be exactly what I was looking for,” she says.
And it was.
“I’m working with good people and have the freedom to learn and gain experience,” Kaboly says.
She and her fiancé, C.J. Barnett, are getting married in July. They have two cats, Oscar and Olive, and recently bought a house.
“We’ve put our roots down in Delaware,” says Kaboly. “We’ll be staying here for a while.”